One of the slain victims was found in a grassy area outside the apartment. (Mike Glenn/Chronicle)

One of the slain victims was found in a grassy area outside the apartment. (Mike Glenn/Chronicle)

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The shooting happened in the 8200 block of Sunbury.

The shooting happened in the 8200 block of Sunbury.

Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

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A shooting victim is loaded into a medical helicopter at the the scene of a shooting in northwest Harris County, Nov. 12, 2013. (Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle)

A shooting victim is loaded into a medical helicopter at the the scene of a shooting in northwest Harris County, Nov. 12, 2013. (Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle)

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A LifeFlight medical helicopter at the scene of a northwest Harris County apartment shooting where three were killed and two more wounded.

A LifeFlight medical helicopter at the scene of a northwest Harris County apartment shooting where three were killed and two more wounded.

Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

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The scene of the shooting in northwest Harris County. (Google Maps)

The scene of the shooting in northwest Harris County. (Google Maps)

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A Life Flight helicopter takes off with a gunshot victim in the aftermath of a shooting Wednesday in the 8200 block of Sunbury.

A Life Flight helicopter takes off with a gunshot victim in the aftermath of a shooting Wednesday in the 8200 block of Sunbury.

Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff

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The apartment complex where three were killed late Wednesday is shown boarded up in the 8200 block of Sunbury in Cypress on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2013. (Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle)

The apartment complex where three were killed late Wednesday is shown boarded up in the 8200 block of Sunbury in Cypress on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2013. (Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle)

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Houston Chronicle

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3 killed, 2 wounded in shooting at apartment

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A gunman shot five people in the head on Wednesday, killing three, at a northwest Harris County apartment complex.

All were in their late teens or early 20s, officials said, and the shooting is at least the third in the last two weeks to take the lives of local teens.

On Nov. 9, two teens were killed and 20 people injured in a shooting at a house party in the Cypress area. On Sunday, a 17-year-old died and three others injured at a party in southwest Houston. Both parties had been promoted on social media.

In Wednesday's shooting, two female victims, one 18 years old, and a 20-year-old man were killed. The injured, a man and a woman, were taken via Life Flight helicopter ambulance to the Memorial Hermann Hospital trauma center, according to Memorial Hermann spokeswoman Alex Rodriguez. They were in critical condition late Wednesday, said Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia.

Officials believe the two are the only witnesses to the deaths.

"Once they get out of harm's way, hopefully they'll have more information for us," the sheriff said.

The gunman was in the apartment at Peppermill Place, in the 8200 block of Sunbury in the Copperfield area, when he opened fire about 4:25 p.m., deputies said. Someone in the complex reported hearing gunfire. Authorities were told the gunman shot the five, closed the apartment door, then fled.

Authorities said they do not have a description of the shooter and have not determined a motive, but did disclose that weapons and drugs were found inside the apartment.

Identities of the dead or wounded were not available.

Sheriff Garcia said late Wednesday that all of the five were shot several times. Deputies at the scene said the victims were seated and had been shot in the head.

Garcia wouldn't say whether they were tied up.

Residents at the complex, one of several in the area, were tense after the shooting.

Reanna Auclair, who lives in the complex, said she was startled by the sirens and other commotion.

She said other similar violent incidents have occurred at the complex, where she lives with her daughter.

"I'm out of here. I'm a single mom. I can't have that kind of stuff going on," Auclair said.

"I just don't feel safe here anymore."

Terry Noisom has been a resident for about 13 years. She said the apartments have gone downhill in the past three or four years.

"It's gotten quite bad. I just want out of here," she said.

"You can walk through here in the middle of the night and make a drug deal," Noisom said.